Rays pitcher Matt Garza wins ALCS MVP award

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Matt Garza threw down the rosin bag and told himself what he needed to do after Dustin Pedroia's first-inning homer.

"Just calm down," the Tampa Bay pitcher said. "Take one pitch at a time. I just told myself, 'That's it. I can't give up anything more.'"

And that was all the Red Sox got.

Garza shut down Boston in Game 7 of the AL championship series Sunday night, allowing only one more hit in seven-plus innings to lead the Rays to their first pennant and earn the MVP award.

"I took today's game just like another game in June," Garza said. "That's the only way I could do it."

The 6-foot-4 right-hander was 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts in the series.

"He gave us fits. He gave us nothing," Boston manager Terry Francona said.

Garza was one of several Rays who could've walked away with the MVP award. B.J. Upton hit four homers and drove in 11 runs, Evan Longoria set an ALCS record by homering in four straight games and Carlos Pena went deep three times.

Garza wound up with the trophy.

"I didn't know if today was my last start of the year or what, so I just went out there and emptied my tank and said, 'Hey, here goes. We'll see what happens,'" he said.

He will indeed get another start this year, against the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

The Rays acquired Garza and slick-fielding shortstop Jason Bartlett during the offseason in a six-player deal that sent Delmon Young to Minnesota. Both new Rays played key roles in the run to the AL East title.

Garza admitted that when the trade was made, "I was disappointed for a while."

Those feelings changed in spring training.

"The guys took me in with open arms and said, 'Hey, you're a piece of this puzzle that we're going to put together,'" he said.

Garza was shaky in his first postseason start, allowing five runs and seven hits over six innings against the Chicago White Sox in the division series. He got the decision in Tampa Bay's only loss in the first round.

He bounced back against Boston, allowing just one run in six-plus innings in the Rays' 9-1 victory in Game 3 at Fenway Park.

Garza, the Twins' first-round draft pick in 2005 out of Fresno State, went 11-9 with a 3.70 ERA this season for Tampa Bay. He made 30 starts and worked 184 2-3 innings, both more than he pitched in his first two years combined.

He had enough left for 118 pitches Sunday. He struck out nine and walked three.

"He was a stallion tonight," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He did everything he could, and I'm so proud of him and what he's done this year and how far he's come."